1984 European Grand Prix
7 October |number = 403 |officialname = XXXVI AvD-Großer Preis von Europa |circuit = Nürburgring |location = Nürburg, Germany |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 4.556 |laps = 67 |distance = 305.252 |pole = Nelson Piquet |polenation = BRA-1968 |poleteam = |poletime = 1:18.871 |fastestlap = 1:23.146 |fastestlapdriver = Michele Alboreto |fastestlapnation = ITA |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 62 |winner = Alain Prost |winnernation = FRA |winnerteam = |second = Michele Alboreto |secondnation = ITA |secondteam = |third = Nelson Piquet |thirdnation = BRA-1968 |thirdteam = }} The 1984 European Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the XXXVI AvD-Großer Preis von Europa, was the fifteenth and penultimate round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Nürburgring, Germany, on the 7 October 1984.'European GP, 1984', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr403.html, (Accessed 21/03/2019) The race, which was the first Grand Prix to be staged on the new Nürburgring GP-Strecke, would see Alain Prost claim victory as he closed the gap on teammate Niki Lauda at the head of the Championship. A series of big announcements were made in the build-up to the race, with the biggest news originating from Michelin, who announced that they would withdraw from F1 at the end of the 1984 campaign. Elsewhere the funded was unveiled ahead of its planned debut in 1985, while Carl Haas revealed plans to enter his own F1 team in . On track, meanwhile, it was Nelson Piquet who claimed pole position during qualifying, beating title pretender Prost by three tenths. Championship leader Niki Lauda, meanwhile, would qualify a distant fifteenth, with rain during Saturday preventing any improvements on Friday's efforts. The start would see Piquet make an unusually sluggish getaway in the , allowing Prost and Patrick Tambay to sprint past to claim the lead. Lauda, meanwhile, would make a relatively good start, before a huge accident eliminated six drives at the first corner. The cause of said accident was Ayrton Senna, who misjudged his braking point and slammed straight into the back of Keke Rosberg. Seeing this, Marc Surer jumped on his brakes, resulting in Gerhard Berger slamming into the back of his , with the quartet of sliding cars also collecting Teo Fabi and Piercarlo Ghinzani en-route to the grass. Five of the drivers were out on the spot, with the cars abandoned at the side of the circuit without the race being stopped. Fabi was the only one to rejoin, courtesy of an illegal push-start, although his race would be ended later on by a gearbox failure. On track, meanwhile, Prost would establish a fair lead over Tambay and Piquet, while Lauda made an early charge through the field. Indeed, the Austrian ace would break into the points before the end of lap five, before chasing after the top five which had already broken clear. Yet, there would be no further overtaking action at the head of the field, with the only changes coming when Tambay and Derek Warwick hit engine trouble. The former's retirement mid-race allowed Prost to cruise home to a sixth victory of the season, while Piquet lost second on the final lap after running out of fuel. He would, however, still claim third ahead of Lauda, René Arnoux and Riccardo Patrese. The results of the race meant that Prost trailed teammate Lauda by 3.5 points heading into the season finale in Portugal, with already declared as the Constructors' Championship Champions. Background In terms of the Championship Niki Lauda's fifth victory of the season last time out in Italy ensured that the Austrian would arrive at the Nürburgring with a 9.5 point lead at the head of the field, meaning he would take the title with victory. Indeed, teammate Alain Prost would have to finish ahead of Lauda if he was to keep his title challenge alive, with neither driver set to lose points as a result of the dropped score rule. Behind, Elio de Angelis arrived in Germany too far back to challenge having failed to score at Monza, leaving him at the head of the fight to finish third. With already declared as Constructors Champions all of the focus in Italy had been on the fight for second, where had moved back ahead of . Indeed, the Scuderia had moved 1.5 points ahead in their season-long game of leapfrog, having trailed the team from Ethel by 4.5 at the start of the Italian weekend. Those two also looked set to duel for the runner-up spot until the end of the season, although and still had a mathematical chance of overtaking them upon arrival in Germany. Entry List The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *'Bold' indicates best/qualifying time. *T Indicates driving a test/spare car in qualifying sessions. ** Fabre's entry was withdrawn as the Frenchman lacked a Super Licence. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: ** Boutsen, Warwick, and Gartner were classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance. Milestones * First race at the Nürburgring GP-Strecke.'1984 European GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1984&gp=European%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 21/03/2019) ** It was also the first Grand Prix to be staged at the Nürburgring since the 1976 German Grand Prix. * 25th entry for Thierry Boutsen. * Castrol earned their tenth pole position as a lubricant manufacturer. * Fifteenth victory for Alain Prost.'15. Europe 1984', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1984/europe.aspx, (Accessed 21/03/2019) * claimed their 41st victory as a constructor. ** earned their 11th win as an engine supplier. * Nelson Piquet claimed the 41st and final fastest lap recorded by a chassis. Standings Victory ensured that Alain Prost kept his title hopes alive heading into the season finale in Portugal, with the Frenchman just 3.5 points behind teammate Niki Lauda. Indeed, the Austrian would win his third World Championship if he finished second at Estoril, regardless of what Prost did, with the Frenchman having to finish third or higher just to overhaul Lauda's tally. The battle for third would also have to be concluded at the final race, with Elio de Angelis, the man in third, through to Derek Warwick in seventh, all having a mathematical chance to finish best of the rest. In the Constructors' Championship continued to show their dominance, with the Anglo-German effort ending the European Grand Prix with 128.5 points to their name. had remained their closest "challengers", albeit with less than half the number of points, and had opened a 9.5 point advantage over third placed . Indeed, with one race the fight for second seemed to be over, although the Ethel based squad still had a mathematical chance of overhauling the Scuderia in Portugal. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. These standings have been modified to show the Championship as it stood after the retroactive disqualification of the 012 and drivers Martin Brundle and Stefan Bellof. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1984 Grands Prix Category:European Grand Prix Category:Formula One races in Germany